Haru Haru
by kun0ichix
Summary: Taichi x Mimi x Yamato Takeru x Hikaru x Daisuke. Chapter 6: Mimi acts cute for Taichi, but goes on a date with Yamato!
1. Of Chocolate Hearts and Masking Tape

She scowled. She did that often – now that _he_ was gone. Happy couples made her bitter. It wasn't like it was a crime to scowl or anything, right?

She lay listless on her side and let the darkness envelop her, like it enjoyed doing so often. Many times, when there was nothing to preoccupy her mind, it tended to wander into thoughts of _him._ That was very bad. She squeezed her eyes shut in attempts to block out the flooding memories, but to no avail. Once again, the tears threatened to fall. But once again, she jostled herself into an upright position and forced herself to stare blankly at the wall.

_Why doesn't he want me anymore?_

She threw off her covers and slid off the bed.

_Where did I go wrong?_

Putting on her brown monkey slippers, she stumbled through the hallway and made herself comfortable on the couch. The couch, however, brought her no comfort. It teased her heartstrings, bringing back aching memories of times when they used to just waste hours upon hours there; together.

Her home phone rang, but she felt no desire to rush over and pick up. After four annoying rings that seemed to drone on forever, his low voice greeted her caller: "Meems can't answer the phone right now, she's busy spending time with me. (picture smirk here) Leave a message and maybe we'll call you back."

Oh boy, that memory really hurt. It felt as if she'd just been slapped in the heart – slapped in the heart? Now she **knew** she needed to pull herself together and stop moping around.

"Mimi…" a feminine voice began.

Said person sat upright, cross-legged on the couch and glared at the phone, hoping it would explode any moment.

"Look Mimi, I know you're there."

"…."

"Fine, don't pick up. Whatever. You just want me to forever live in your shadow. You just can't stand the fact that for once, I won and you lost. I just wanted to let you know how sorry _we_ are but if you're not going to at like a mature adult, then I guess there's nothing for us to talk about."

Mimi pulled her first back and made an attempted threatening motion to punch the phone, but just looked (and felt) childish in the process. Way to shoot the messenger. The tears fell. There was no use in holding them back now. Traitors. The betrayal felt like it was crushing her from the inside out. What a rude awakening. All this time, did he truly even care about her or was it just a game to him?

She was jolted from her reverie when she heard the rustling of her lock. She lived alone in her apartment – who could it be? Scared out of her mind, she grabbed the closest thing she could find and prepared herself to attack. Shutting off the lights for the element on surprise, she wiped away her forlorn tears and ran from the living room to clamber up onto the kitchen counter. _You have the advantage of high ground_, she strategized like a soldier at war.

One..

Two..

Three!

The door burst open and Mimi launched herself from her kitchen counter, onto the intruder's back. Latching herself securely there by locking her legs around his waist, she smacked the back of his head as hard as she could with her dangerous weapon – a frying pan. She smiled smugly, knowing it was only a matter of time before he went down… right?

"Ow Mi, what the hell?!" the intruder managed to get out when he realized just what was going on.

_Smack. Smack. Smack._

His giant bag of groceries dropped to the floor and – wait what? Intruders don't bring groceries to your house! Mimi stopped her constant smacking and jumped off him, running to flick on the lights. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she felt instantly guilty when she saw who her 'intruder' was.

There stood Tai, goggles snapped over one eye and above the other, hair much messier than usual, and his blue swishy jacket drooping low over one shoulder. What the hell is he wearing? If she were in better spirits, she would have burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry! Next time I'll just knock," he huffed with desperation. "Geez."

Mimi knew it was Tai as soon as he cried 'Mi.' Being her best guy friend, he was the only one who noticed that she hated the nickname 'Meems,' and thus so shortened it to just 'Mi.'

"Tai, what are you doing here? You know I'm not in the mood," she dropped to the floor to help him pick up the scattered groceries. Chocolates, marshmallows, bananas, candy, shish-kabob sticks? "And what's with your groceries?"

He smiled sheepishly. "We both know you're feeling like a shaven kitten who's been stuck in the rain, then constantly ran over by a thousand-ton truck because he's trying to park but can't do it very well so he keeps going forward, and backing up, and then going –"

"Got it."

"Right.. so yeah. Don't coop yourself up in this hole anymore – it's only going to hurt you more. Every crevice, ever corner you look there's going to be memories of him," his eyes softened. He hated seeing her like this. The last time was back in their Digiworld days, when she'd give anything for their fighting to stop.

"But today, Tai? How about tomorrow?" her eyes pleaded him to understand. But as much as it hurt him to not give in to her request, he stood his ground.

"Today's the day," he nodded in approval.

Together they brought the discarded grocery items into the kitchen, and left them scattered around the counter.

"Okay, I don't really know what you girls do when this kind of things happens, but you've made me sit through enough chick flicks to kind of grasp the idea."

_Smack._

"Believe it or not that's a pretty lethal weapon, knock it off!" Tai scowled, rubbing the back of his head.

Mimi started at him for a few silent moments, and then cracked a little smile.

"My plan precisely! Get you to smile and be your old self again through my cuteness and boyish charm," he winked.

"More like your idiocracy and arrogance," she responded coyly.

He patted her head, "Idiocracy's not a word, dummy."

* * *

Love it? Hate it? Review, review! I haven't written anything in so long.. my account got deleted. Bummer.

Updated 08/21 to fit my new plot/storyline etc.

kun0


	2. There For Me

Mimi Tachikawa hummed a soft tune as she strolled down her usual path to school. She loved Japan in the fall – cherry blossoms scattered everywhere in a beautiful mess. This was home, she smiled. There's no way she could stay away. It was her first day of school, and she was oh-so nervous. After all, she hadn't been back for so long. Smiling up at the falling cherry blossoms, she smacked straight into a solid, hard chest and flew backwards onto her behind. She closed her eyes and remained on the floor, incoherent with surprise and pain.

"Oh crap I mauled a student. I'm so sorry, are you alright?"

Her honey brown eyes flew open and took a moment to readjust, looking up at the stranger drowned in bright light. As they refocused she saw an outstretched hand, and steely blue eyes.

"I'm sorry, I was too busy admiring the cherry blossoms. I should've been watching where I was going." She felt flustered by his gaze as she accepted his hand and straightened up. Why?

"You must be a transfer student then. We see cherry blossoms around here all the time. It's nothing new, after a while."

She narrowed her eyes, "I'm a teacher, not a student."

"What? Oh. That explains why you're not in uniform. I'm sorry, you just look so… refreshing." That was awkward. He wanted to say 'young,' but it didn't seem like the right word to describe her.

She was gorgeous; the epitome of a youth in her prime. Her long brown locks were loosely curled, framing her face. And her eyes, oh man her eyes. They were huge, taking up most of her face – and it just made her that much more adorable. Right now those honey-brown eyes and pouty lips formed a displeased expression, probably from his misunderstanding. She wore a collared button-up shirt, and a floral skirt that rested just above the knees. Her long, smooth legs were bare, and even in her wedges she was still a good 5 inches shorter than him. Really cute, he smirked.

She dusted herself off and repositioned her glasses in a quirky, nerdy gesture. They were obviously fake but she wanted to impress upon her students a more mature, scholarly image. It didn't help that she was already teaching at such a young age.

Noticing that Mimi was pretty much ignoring him at this point, the man quickly turned on his charm and tried to spark casual conversation. "Where you from?"

"I recently just arrived from New York," she answered disinterested.

"Oh yeah? I lived in New York for a bit," he kept fishing for common ground. Usually women swooned at his charm! If only she would actually look at him, grrr.

"Oh that's nice."

"I'm Yamato. Ishida Yamato," he gave his most sexy smile and extended his hand for a shake.

She immediately stopped what she was doing and stared at his face hard for a good two seconds before she skimmed right past his extended hand and straight into his arms. Wow, Yamato had no idea that dropping his name would get this kind of reaction. I mean, he was pretty well-known back in the days for his band but he didn't think there'd still be fangirls around for _this _long. Not that he was complaining; this girl's body was petite but definitely womanly.

After squeezing him hard for what seemed like forever, she pulled back enough to meet his gaze while still holding on to him. "It's me, Mimi!"

Dot. Dot. Dot. "OH MY GOD, MIMI!" he picked her up and swirled her around while she just laughed and look beautiful, basking in the sunlight. Then he thought back to just moments ago, when he was trying to pick her up. And checking her out. And giving her a two thumbs up on his mental checklist for girls he found attractive. It's cool, she doesn't have to know. Play it cool, Ishida. "Cool um… I was just… going to work."

"But this path only leads to the high school. Unless… you work there too?!" her eyes lit up with excitement.

"Ahh, er… no. I'm a businessman," he lifted his suitcase sheepishly. "I was just dropping Takeru off. Kids, you know. But I'm really glad you're back babe, let's go grab dinner tonight."

She blushed at the nickname 'babe,' even though he called plenty of girls that. Only Yamato could do that so smoothly. "Oh sure. I haven't really unpacked yet, so I have no idea where my pots and pans are anyway. Eating out sounds good. Where should I meet you?"

"I'll come pick up you afterschool. Wouldn't want you bumping into any other guys and having them make dinner plans with you. Later sensei," he winked as he hurried away, picking up his cell as soon as he was out of earshot.

"Ishida speaking."

"Baaaabe, where are you? You said you'd come with breakfast for my first day of school." Miyako whined.

Yamato cringed. "I'm sorry, I can't make it. I'll probably be working late tonight too. I ran into a pretty large project…"

* * *

"Mi, are you even listening to me?"

Mimi snapped out of her reverie. "Oh yeah, sorry Tai. Okay so it's… marshmallow banana marshmallow? And then just drown it in chocolate?"

"How would I know," he grumbled. "I'm just trying to cheer you up."

Her eyes softened as she looked at his overly-happy demeanor, the dorky goggles that were much too small for his overgrown head, and a replicated outfit from their old high school days. Tai pulled out all the stops when he knew someone dear to him needed cheering up – she felt special. Usually he only went to such extremes for her since she was his best friend and Hikari since she was his sister.

She dropped everything she was holding and wrapped her arms tightly around him. "I don't want to make stupid chocolate shishkabob stick things, I just needed you around. Thank you. You're always there for me."

He blushed. Good thing she couldn't see it. Truth was, there was no one else he'd rather be spending Valentine's Day with anyway. They weren't the closest within the group during their DigiWorld days, but as they grew and matured they became mysteriously drawn to each other – now more than ever since Mimi returned to Japan a year ago. They were practically inseparable; except for the times she would spend with Ishida. Yamato. Matt. Tai scowled. He needed to have a serious talk with his _best friend._

Stroking her silky hair while her tiny arms remained wrapped around his waist, he picked her up and elicited a quick gasp from the brunette. He placed her neatly on the counter and told her to stay out of the way as he began cleaning the mess of chocolate and sugar they'd created.

Mimi smiled, and it made the whole tiresome, stressful day worthwhile. It was that very same serene, tranquil smile that he'd do anything for. He wanted to see her smiling like that all the time.

* * *

**A/N:** Minna gomen ne! 4 years later, this story is long overdue. But it must be finished! Originally this was going to be a short fic for Valentine's Day, but since it is nowhere near Valentines anymore I've decided to change it up and extend it. I hope you will all continue to support this story! :)

Some pairings for this story:

Mimi x Taichi  
Takeru x Hikari x Davis (I love it, it's so fun)  
The rest is a scattered mess, so TBA

+ Miyako is going to be the bad person because… I need an antagonist, and I never really liked her. SO CLICK AWAYYYY if you're a diehard fan of hers and you're going to be mean about it :[

+ I know I jump back and forth from Japanese to English names sometimes. It's because I prefer the Japanese names for some characters, but for others the English name sounds better. Bear with me, hokay?

+ I haven't written in a VERY long time so it's going to take a while to get back in the jiggy of things. But I am always open to constructive criticism! I know I definitely need to fix my POVs ^^;

Kun0x


	3. Old Habits Die Hard

[_1 year ago_]

"So then I asked if she had one size bigger. Then she gave me the once-over – the once-over, how dare she! And asked me to try shopping at Sears!"

Yamato rested his chin on his right hand and gave her a slanted smile; one he knew all girls melted under. He kept his gaze staring straight ahead at the attractive red-head, but his thoughts were encompassed by this morning's more than welcome encounter with another pretty brunette.

_I wonder what Mimi's doing now…_

He imagined her at the front of a class with her fake glasses and long legs, attempting to be taken seriously as a sensei. Sexy.

Yamato smirked. _I wish I could go back to being a student if I knew Mimi was going to be my teacher._

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!" jun snapped her fingers, and brought him back to reality.

"Of course babe. Hey don't be mad," he gave her a shy smile and took her hand in his. It was annoying. Girls like Jun were harder to keep in check, because they were older and … how should we say, smarter. Miyako, on the other hand, was still in high school and lacked experience. He could tell her literally anything, and she'd believe him without even the slightest doubt. She was much easier to keep on the side. And he'd invested a lot of time and money into her.

He combed through his hair with his long fingers and slapped down 5,000 yen. "I'm gonna go see Taichi, but lunch is on me okay? Keep the change, baby." He gave her a long, hard kiss on the lips to leave her dazed and swooning, and then quickly walked out of the cafe before she could register what was going on and follow after him.

"I love you!" she called out after him, but he pretended not to hear.

After stepping out of the quaint café, he was met with hundreds of people and a lot more noise. 3rd Story Café was designed to let customers kick back and relax after a long day of shopping. The soundproof glass walls made it so that all you heard once you've entered the café is slow, soothing music and the light clink of people stirring their drinks with a spoon.

Yamato hopped into the first elevator he saw. Instead of pressing a button for one of the 14 floors of the huge shopping mall, he flipped open a clasp in the elevator to reveal a pin pad alongside a dark red square. His dexterous fingers quickly entered 6 digits, and then he placed his thumb on the red pad. It scanned it and turned green. He smiled and stood back as the elevator picked up speed and ascended to the 15th floor.

The 15th floor was unknown to many consumers, as it was the office level and they often did not want people wandering around. Many of the regular elevators didn't have a 15 button to push, but instead a secret latch to enter an employee pin number. If correct the elevator would go directly to the 15th floor at an accelerated speed, without stopping at other floors for regular customers to hop on. It was all Koushiro Izumi's idea.

The elevator came to a halt and Yamato gave a smile to the receptionist at the front desk, who blushed in return and mumbled into her phone, "Ishida-san is here to see you" without ever looking up until Yamato walked past her. Then she would sigh and admire his retreating form.

* * *

"Come again? Okay I can't understand a thing you're saying, you're mumbling," Taichi slumped back in his chair and threw his hands up in exasperation.

"Oh no wonder, it's you you dirty asshole. What do you need? Herpes get the best of you?"

"Very funny, stupid. I just needed to duck out on Jun. We were at 3rd Floor," Yamato made a slicing motion across his neck with his finger.

"I wish you wouldn't play your dirty games at _my_ mall," Taichi rolled his eyes.

The Yagami family owned this large, prestigious mall and by the time they'd graduated college Taichi had already worked his way up the company ladder to become CEO. It was his natural appointed position anyway but his grandmother insisted that Taichi start at the very bottom and learn every aspect of the company before taking over. So that's what he did: slaving away first as Janitor before becoming a salesperson at one of the departments, and then continuously impressing his superiors until he was appointed CEO.

Yamato was a businessman in his own right, working more with stocks, bonds and trading. His company also had their investments in Yagami Mall as well.

"What are you here for? Business? Pleasure? New hot chick you want to brag about banging?"

Yamato thought about how he bumped into Mimi this morning, and how excited he was that she moved back to Japan for good. Of course she would probably want to meet up with everyone – in time. He decided not to tell Taichi that she was back. For now, he wanted to keep her all to himself. It wasn't like he was doing anything wrong anyway, he just wanted to spend some more time with her.

He looked at the picture Taichi had on his desk – it was a picture of all the original Digidestined, after they reunited the second time. Taichi had his arm casually draped around Mimi's shoulders and her left arm was behind his waist. Yamato was to Mimi's right, putting a peace sign behind her head to make bunny ears. Sora was hugging his right arm. Joe and Koushiro were next to Sora. Hikari was to Taichi's left, and his little brother was behind Hikari with both arms wrapped loosely around her shoulders and chin resting on her head. Everyone looked so happy. They were a big family. Suddenly, he felt a little guilty for not telling his best friend about Mimi's return. Was he afraid of a little competition? Something inside of him just didn't want Taichi to know. He looked at Mimi in the picture, laughing in the picture with her silly pink hair. She looks so much more innocent now with her natural light-brown hair. He would keep Mimi to himself just for now - it was better this way.

"Nothing, just wanted to stop by and visit," he shrugged. "I'm gonna go home and get ready though, I have a hot date tonight."

"New girl? Seriously man, doesn't this start to get old for you?" Taichi looked wary.

"No way. Don't be an old sack of potatoes man, you should be playing the field too. We're young, successful, and look hot as shit. Shouldn't we be using this power we've been given?"

Taichi rolled his eyes at his best friend. "Whatever, up to you."

"What can I say? Old habits die hard," Yamato winked as he backed up, and then spun around to leave.

"AUGHH my eyes! How many times have I told you not to wink at me, you dirty bastard!"

* * *

**A/N:** Another chapter, I'm on a roll! This one wasn't as fun (maybe because Mimi's not in it T^T) but it gives some insight and background, so it's necessary :) And some bromance, daaw.

Next chapter will FINALLY be Taichi! [Shuts off. Fangirl mode. Floats away with sparkly eyes]

Positive comments keep me going, thanks a lot guys!


	4. First Day of School!

"Sir, it's almost 3 o clock," Taichi's secretary buzzed through the phone.

"Oh no I totally forgot. I'm going to be late! Thanks Ana."

No time to change, he thought while loosening his tie. Grabbing his car keys he headed to the garage and revved up his blue BMW convertible. Rolling up the sleeves of his dress shirt to look more casual, he threw on a pair of aviator sunglasses and sped off.

* * *

Mimi took a deep breath and tried to check her reflection on the classroom door before stepping in to her new class. First day of school! First day of being a teacher... ever. She fidgeted with her fingers and took a look around. Kids were sitting atop desks, throwing paper, and chit chatting with one another. Mimi cleared her throat to gain their attention, and then instantly regretted it. Most students sat down and prepared for class, but some whistled and made cat-call noises.

She sweatdropped. _Why did I want to become a teacher again?_

"Settle down unless you want a test on the first day of school."

The room fell silent.

"Good. Now I will be your teacher for the duration of this school year. Hello, you may all call me Tachikawa-sensei. I actually went to this very same school when I was your age," she smiled at the memory. "All rise."

All the students rose, bowed, and greeted her properly. Then they sat back down with solemn faces. A teacher threatening a test on the first day of school? This was bad news. What a scary lady.

Mimi scanned her eyes through the classroom of serious faces, only to stop at one boy with a huge grin plastered. He wasn't afraid of her? Her brain registered the unruly short blond hair, attractive face, and baby blue eyes. Takeru! She wanted to run over and hug him but chided herself, remembering that they were in a classroom setting and she was the **sensei.** She pouted. Their reunion would just have to wait.

* * *

"Alright and don't forget to purchase your text books, we're officially beginning assignments tomorrow so if you don't have them I'm giving you a big, fat zero! Class dismissed," Mimi smiled and waved, occasionally greeting the student who said farewell to her personally.

_Phew. Done. Well, that was a pretty good first day._

But she still had the afterschool teacher's meeting. She groaned and thumped her forehead against her desk.

Someone coughed. She looked up to find Takeru and another brunette student from her class, waiting expectantly. Laughing loudly to hide her embarrassment, she went over and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"My little Takeru, how are you!"

"Good, _sensei._ Are you sure it's okay for you to be holding me so tightly? Doesn't this count as sexually harassing a student?" he teased.

"Ha ha, very funny. And you are…" she turned her attention to the brunette.

"Daisuke. Or Davis, whichever you prefer. I'm Takeru's friend."

The sheepish big grin, hand behind his head gesture, and lame goggles. "AWWW, YOU'RE LIKE A BABY TAICHI!" she gushed with stars in her eyes. She instantly went to him and stretched his cheeks as far as they'd go.

Takeru, sensing danger, attempted to save Daisuke by changing the subject. "Speaking of Taichi, does he know you're back? Have you met up with everyone yet?"

Mimi stopped her harassment of Daisuke and turned her attention back to Takeru. He was so tall now, about a head taller than her. What is up with these hunky Ishida brothers, she blushed. He was no longer the little boy that used to follow her around in the Digiworld. The rest of the Digidestined always grouped them together and called them the babies or the whiners, she remembered fondly.

"Umm, no. I literally just got back about 2 days before school began, and I spent all that time moving boxes and what not. I haven't even fully unpacked yet."

"That's awesome, let's all gather and have dinner together then!" Takeru grinned.

Then Mimi remembered. "Oh dinner! I bumped into your brother this morning and he actually made dinner plans with me. Maybe we can all get together another time? Tomorrow night?"

Takeru's smile faltered for the slightest second and Mimi thought she saw his eyes… darken? But that must've been her imagination because after she blinked he was back to his old smiling self.

"Sure, no problem. I have to tell Hikari you're back though, she'll be so happy."

"I'd like that. I can't wait to see her either. How is she?"

Before Takeru could answer, Daisuke interrupted him: "She's beautiful, as always. She's Class President, Captain of the Track and Volleyball teams, the love of my life, and my girlfriend."

"She is NOT your girlfriend," Takeru huffed and bonked him on the head. When he saw that Daisuke was unfazed by it and still had stars in his eyes while privately daydreaming about Hikari, he bonked him harder – the second time was effective, as it brought Daisuke back to Earth and Takeru into his line of fire.

"Well not officially, but it's so obvious that we're madly in love," Davis fought back.

"No she is not. And you know what Hikari and I have? History! We are destined for each other!"

"Oh please Hikari and I have P.E. together but that doesn't mean anything!"

"You are so dumb you –"

"Boys, I'm going to have to cut you off. I need you out of this classroom, I'm heading to an afterschool meeting with the rest of the teachers, and the principal. You guys are going to make me late," said Mimi.

Both boys, looking like puppies in trouble, sauntered out of the room and into the hallway.

"We have practice to get to anyway. I'm really glad you're back. See you tomorrow, Princess Mimi," Takeru hugged her and was sure to include the childhood nickname he assigned the beautiful girl. A little because as a kid he looked up to her and found her attractive, but mostly because she acted like a spoiled princess back then.

She smiled and hugged him back. "Me too. And we'll all hang out really soon, I promise."

They parted ways, and Mimi watched as Daisuke rushed through the hall and around the corner, shouting "Ahhh first day with Coach too, he's going to be so mad if I'm late!"

Takeru stayed farther behind him, as if taking a leisurely stroll and not as if he were late to practice at all. The perks of being Basketball Captain, she supposed.

Takeru stopped and turned around, as if just deciding something. "Be careful, okay?" he called out to her.

Mimi thought it a strange thing to say, but just assumed that he meant wandering around a city she was still unaccustomed to. Everything had changed so much since she'd last lived here. She nodded and waved, eventually making her way to the principal's office before the meeting was to begin.

* * *

_Knock knock._

"Hey boss man, what's up?" she grunted in the deepest voice she could muster upon entering the office.

"Very funny Meems, shut the door after you," the redhead said without even looking up from his computer. She did as she was told, and sat down on one of the two chairs laid out facing him and his desk. The placard on his desk read **Principal Izumi Koushirou**. Books lined both walls on either side of them, and the office itself was decorated with very sleek, modern furniture. Very unlike the dusty, wooden office you'd imagine for a stuffy old principal.

"Spiffy office," she thought aloud.

"Just called you here to see you because I missed you," Koushirou began with a smile, finally taking his eyes off his computer.

"Awww," she made a puppy face and walked around his desk to hug him. "I missed you too. All of you."

Would she never get tired of hearing that her friends missed her? _Never_, she thought. It felt good to hear each time, coming from each of her dearest friends. This was the only good thing about being gone for so long, she supposed. Had she not left Japan, would they all still even care for her? Or would she just have faded into the background? She shook away all thoughts of self-loathing and let go of their long embrace.

"How was your first day teaching?"

"Good. Takeru's in my class."

"Oh ho ho, that should be interesting," Koushirou laughed. "Come on, let's get to the boring meeting. I'll make it quick."

And so they walked together to the teacher's conference room, and he was right – it was **so** boring. Blah blah blah welcome to a new year, guidelines, rules, appropriate teacher behavior, etc. Nothing they hadn't heard before, or read in the agenda before school had started. She widened her eyes extra big to keep them from falling asleep, and one of the teachers sitting directly across from her looked scared. _Oops!_ She would have to fix her image later, there was no way she could fall asleep during the first meeting of the year!

The meeting finally ended in what felt like forever – but it had only been 20 minutes! _What the heck?!_ She met with Koushirou afterwards.

"You know I would love nothing more than to give you a tour of this huge school," he began. "Buuuuut I'm awfully busy. So here's a map, and here's a whistle in case you get lost."

"What!" she pouted. "You're terrible."

He laughed. "You'll be fine, don't worry! And if anyone tries to kidnap you, the whistle can also come in handy. You're welcome. Have fun!"

"You didn't always use to be like this!" she huffed as he walked away in a hurry. But eventually she cracked a smile. Stupid Kou.

Well, she was a big girl. How hard could it be to navigate her way around…. her jaw dropped. She unfolded the map he gave her, then unfolded it again, and then a third time to fully reveal the whole school. What was this, a map of Japan?! How is it possible to have a school this big? Was it even necessary? She tucked a golden-brown lock of hair behind her ear.

_Better get started._

* * *

"Alright you guys, looking good! Pick up the pace a little bit," Taichi shouted out onto the field.

Daisuke ran, trying his hardest to impress his future brother-in-law (hopefully). From the corner of his eye, he saw Hikari walking towards her brother and tripped over his own shoe. He knocked into another player, who knocked into another and eventually created a big, dusty ball of angry soccer players. Hopefully she didn't see that….

Hikari whispered something into Taichi's ear and smiled brightly. He rolled his eyes and his mouth formed into an obvious "No." She stomped her foot and said something else, and then he sighed and shouted: "Everybody run three laps around the whole field. I'll be back at any time, so you'd better not slack off!" Then he walked past the bleacher and towards the main buildings of school. Hikari returned to her starting position on the track and at the sound of "Go!" her long legs sprinted her far beyond that of her teammates, her long brunette ponytail swishing in the wind behind her.

* * *

"The things I do for my stupid imouto," he sighed pretending to act grumpy. In truth, he'd do anything for her. But going to buy her Calpico from the vending machine during practice was a little overboard. Isn't that what Daisuke or Takeru were there for? He snorted. _Poor guys, don't even know that they're being played._ Well, Taichi would rather that Hikari be Puppetmon instead of one of Puppetmon's dolls.

Good thing there were vending machines around the school campus. If Taichi had to leave school to buy her dumb drink he would've definitely said no. As he bent over to pick up the dispensed Calpico, he heard a sharp whistle.

_What was that?_

Then he heard it again, but longer and even louder this time. His leadership and courage kicked in, just like during their Digidestined days, and he automatically ran towards the direction of the sound.

His shiny black loafers pounded on the pavement as he ran and ran, finally finding himself at the outskirts of school, by the garden.

Mimi was clinging to the statues at the center of the fountain, a naked man and a woman in a steamy embrace. Being that this was a school after all, the privates were artistically covered and rather than steamy the school had hoped that students would just find it romantic. They didn't. Many of the younger boys who just got in touch with their sexuality would snicker every time they walked past it the garden.

Taichi assessed the situation, and saw a little black and white skunk sitting on the border of the fountain. It was obviously trying to reach Mimi, but couldn't because she was surrounded by a body of water.

"Hey you, hold your breath!" Tai ran towards the fountain and chased the skunk away, but not before it became upset and sprayed its stink into the air. Originally it targeted Taichi, but Taichi dodged it to the right. Better not to be directly hit, he rationalized.

The skunk was gone but the stink lingered. Both boy and girl began coughing furiously and when they finally grew accustomed to the smell, he asked her "Hey are you alright?"

Flustered, Mimi peeped out a weak "Yeah," and began her descend off the fountain. Holding onto the man and woman's interlocked fingers, she stuck her right foot over the water hoping to step onto the border of the fountain. Taichi sweatdropped. Extended, her foot only reached half of the water. There was no way she could get off by herself. She waved her foot left and right, wondering where the border was. Then she placed it down into the water and returned it back to the statue quickly with a surprised "Oh."

She must've been the new teacher everyone was talking about. Pretty cute, he stifled a chuckle as he continued to watch her struggle. He knew she was even more embarrassed because he was there watching her.

He stepped onto the border of the fountain – where the skunk just was, moments ago. Her back was to him, but he already felt attracted to this girl. He liked her petite form and curves. Shaking off all perverted thoughts (until later), he opened his arms wide and told her, "Here."

She craned her neck to take a peek at her savior.

He saw her head begin to turn around and look at him. Just then he felt nervous. What if she just had a nice body, but ugly face? He pouted. He hated when that happened. Or what if she was horribly deformed in some way? OR WHAT IF SHE WAS A GHOST?!

Slowly, slowly…

Just then the water fountain turned on and she squealed with laughter, still clinging to the statues. She was getting thoroughly soaked, and had to duck to dodge the spray of water that was originally hitting her in the face.

"It turns on every 30 minutes. Jump, I'll catch you!" Taichi shouted.

"Please don't miss me," she shouted as she turned around to face outwards. She was soaked. Her arms behind her still clung to the statue, keeping her from falling forward. She couldn't see who it was through the water, but did know where her savior was standing because of the obvious brown blur amongst the green of the garden. Positioning her feet against the statue, she let go of their arms and kicked herself off as hard as she could.

Tai imagined her gracefully hopping off the fountain and into his arms, where he would then catch and hold her. They would look deep into each other's eyes until their lips met in a romantic kiss. He waited for her with a charming smile, arms outstretched. Just then, the girl shot out of the water and smacked hard into his chest, knocking the wind out of him. _Oomph!_ She locked her arms around his waist and his around hers, but her force knocked them both backwards and they landed on the ground with a wet thud that sounded more like _shlop._

Tai groaned, eyes still closed. Her clothes were so wet and she was still on top of him; he was getting soaked in the process. He also felt her against his body, and he needed her off before he got… excited. He heard her pretty laugh and slowly opened his eyes to see wet hair dripping on him, and her face just above his. _This is the part where we slowly kiss_, he smirked. His chocolate-brown eyes locked on her cinnamon ones. He put his right hand behind her neck and pushed her down slowly towards him while he lifted his head.

He closed his eyes and his lips met with something wet and soft. What a weird kiss. "Taichi stop, what are you doing!" the girl laughed. He opened his eyes to see her hand against his mouth, effectively blocking him from kissing her. Why did she keep laughing? What was so funny?

She got up off of him, and something inside of him clicked. The wavy brown hair, cinnamon colored eyes, girly laugh and the way she said his name… "Mimi! You're the new teacher?!"

"Uh huh. Finally piecing it together now aren't we, Yagami?"

"Oh excuse me Princess. Always at your service," he mockingly bowed.

"More like disservice, you just tried to take advantage of me!" she teased.

"That was... let's… just... not talk about it. Ah ha ha ha…" he laughed loudly and awkwardly. "Let's go."

"Whe-" she began but was too startled when he took her hand in his and dragged her away, to continue her question. She blushed, feeling his big, warm hand encompass her own petite, cold one.

* * *

**A/N: **My longest chapter yet! I was going to split it into two but decided not to. Hope you all are liking the story so far :} I feel like it's taking forever because each time a new character comes along we have to introduce them but.. it's worth it, ne?


	5. Conflict of Interests

"Ana, it's me. Have a tomato bath drawn, thanks. The office one. Yes, I said _tomato_." Taichi ended the call and pocketed his sleek phone into his back pocket. Arriving at his Blue BMW convertible, he opened the passenger door for Mimi and walked over to situate himself on the driver's side.

_He finally let go of my hand,_ she thought and felt awkward and clumsy as she entered the car.

"You didn't lock your car door?" she asked him.

He gave her a strange look, and then smiled while ruffling the top of her hair like a little child. "It's a keyless entry. As long as I have the key on me, it will automatically unlock once I'm close enough," he explained.

Mimi looked amazed, and then tried to pretend she was unimpressed – like she should have known, and rode in these kinds of cars every day. Taichi wasn't fooled, and the boyish grin remained on his face.

She blew her hair out of her face. "Well excuse me, it's not like I buy a bunch of these cars on my teacher salary," she hmphed and crossed her arms.

"Do you want to start the car? It's just a push of this button."

Instantly her face lit up, and she bit her lip to prevent herself from looking too eager. "I suppose." Hesitantly, her small hand reached over to his side and using her pointer finger she pressed on the button. The car engine roared to life, and she was pushed back in her seat by Taichi's instant acceleration of the car.

"Hey hey, put your seatbelt on!" she shouted to Taichi over the roaring wind.

"Nyahh," he stuck his tongue out at her without turning his head, or taking his eyes off the road.

She would give him a piece of her mind later. Safety is always first! He was like a little boy, only caring about his shiny toy. But eventually, all worries began to dissipate as she felt her hair blow through the wind, and the music blaring out of the speakers serenade her ears. Why had she never purchased a convertible again? It was so fun! Oh yeah… because she couldn't afford one. Oh well, better to enjoy what little time she could in Taichi's then. She wasn't sure how long they would be driving for, since she had no idea where they were going. She let out a content sigh and closed her eyes to enjoy the wind.

Taichi looked over at her satisfied expression, and smiled. Geez, they were all grown up now. She was looking like an actual woman, rather than the little whiny girl he remembered from their pubescent days. Back then, he only had eyes for Sora and didn't even give Mimi a second glance. Especially not during her pink-hair phase, he sweatdropped. Well, he was sure looking at her now… and what a good look it was. Returning his eyes to the road, he made a sharp right into the Yagami Mall.

Startled by the turn, Mimi opened her eyes and drank in the sight of the beautiful mall. On the outside was a gorgeous walkway – almost like a scenic garden. The building itself was very sleek, with stories and stories of stores. Clothes… her eyes turned into stars and her mouth dropped open.

"Close your mouth, you're going to start drooling," Taichi laughed.

Mimi shook the stars out of her eyes and battled with inner shopaholic. _That's right. Remember, you are NOT rich mommy and daddy's little girl anymore. You have bills to pay, and you cannot afford a shopping spree!_ She pouted and slumped back into the leather seats of the BMW.

Rather than going to the usual parking structure that Mimi was accustomed to for malls, they pulled into a smaller, private parking lot that could only fit about 20 cars. She took a look around, and many of the cars there were expensive, nice ones that she knew she would never be able to afford. Naturally, she didn't know the names, makes or models, but she intuitively knew they were probably much out of her price range. And who drives in Japan anyway, except for the really wealthy...

Mimi got out of the car before Taichi could come over and open the door for her. _Don't do that, it's awkward._ She tried to send him that message telepathically, since she was too shy to say it aloud. Shy? Mimi Tachikawa? Well she hadn't seen Taichi in a few years, and here he was all attractive and intimidating and charming at once! Ughhh.

"Come on, let's go," he interrupted her reverie and waved her over a single elevator. Once inside the elevator shot up at an alarming speed, and then stopped abruptly.

_Ding!_

The elevator doors slowly opened to reveal a gorgeous entryway, and from what Mimi could see it led into a spacious living room. The walls were glass from floor to ceiling, showing her just how high up in the air they were.

Taichi ushered her past the living room before she could admire everything else further, and she found herself in a bedroom with a huge four-poster king sized bed. She blushed. He threw her a towel and a bath robe, to her surprise.

"I had my assistant draw us a tomato bath. It'll get rid of the smell," he crinkled his nose.

With all the fanciness going on, Mimi had totally forgotten about the skunk incident that had just happened moments ago. And then the smell hit her, and she almost fainted from the whiff. And then she realized that that was how she'd been smelling to Taichi this whole time. Her face paled and she ran to the bathroom, slamming the door in her hurry.

What the heck. The bathroom was at least three times the size of her bathroom at home. And it had a huge, luxurious tub filled with a steaming, thick red liquid. Mimi wondered how many tomatoes it took to create this single bath. What a waste, she sighed. Stripping off her stinky clothing, she tossed them in the sink and tied up her hair. Dipping her toe into the bath first to check if it was safe, she slowly submerged herself with a loud "Aaaahhh."

"I'm guessing it's still warm? That's good then," Taichi said.

She sat up quickly, covering herself before feeling silly when she realized that the water was so thick and red, you couldn't see through it anyway. She looked around, but Taichi was nowhere in sight. Relieved, she shouted: "You'd better not come in!"

"Don't worry. I'm on the other side of the door," he chuckled.

"You know, it wouldn't be the first time!"

"You mean at ShogunGekomon's castle right? I remember. It was the best three seconds of my life. Until I got hit in the face with a wash pan."

They both laughed together at their DigiWorld days.

* * *

After stepping out of the bath tub and into the shower stall to wash off all the tomato juice and give herself a proper shower, she slipped the fluffy white bathrobe on and stepped back into the connected bedroom.

She grabbed Taichi by the wrist to lift up his hand, and then high-fived it with her own. "Tag. Your turn, stinky!"

"How dare you, I am NOT as stinky as you were."

"I beg to differ."

"Hey by the way, I never gave you a welcome back hug did I?" Taichi smiled devilishly.

"Ewww get away from me, hug me after you shower!" she squealed.

But Taichi stepped dangerously towards her with his arms outstretched.

"Stop Taichi I'm serious, I just got clean!" she tried to sound serious in order to ward him away, but ended up laughing instead.

"Raaawrrrr!" he tackled her and they both fell backwards onto the soft bed, rolling and laughing.

* * *

Mimi sat at the edge of the four-poster bed, legs swinging back and forth as she waited for Taichi to come out of the shower. She heard the water running, and wondered what he was working on now. Shampoo? Conditioner? Body wash? She then pictured him naked, and blushed. Shaking away all scandalous thoughts from her head, she decided to give herself a tour of… the hotel suite? That's what it seemed like. Whatever it was, it was huge.

She stepped out of the bedroom and back into the living area, all with pale floors and a sleek black couch. A huge flat screen TV hung against the wall, and a few pieces of artwork. All very modernistic, cool, and sleek. There are no flowers or plants, Mimi frowned to herself. She took a step up into a raised room that was very obviously the kitchen. The open counter looked more like a bar. Leaning against it however, she could clearly see into the living room. Very nice, she mused. Very bachelor-like. This probably shouldn't come as a surprise to her – Taichi was so attractive and successful now, he probably had girls coming at him left and right.

_Let's not be one of those girls,_ she thought to herself with confidence.

Again the kitchen was adorned in sleek black appliances. She opened the fridge to find bottle drinks of almost any kind she could ever want. She settled on Green Tea, and sat on the kitchen counter enjoying the expansive view of the city.

Taichi stepped out of the steaming bathroom with one towel wrapped around his waist, and another drying his hair. When he didn't see Mimi anywhere within the premises, he stepped out into the living room to look for her.

She was looking at a door on the far right. It was easy to miss when they first entered, because it was connected from the entryway. Mimi wandered towards it, wondering why the door was shut. Upon opening it, she found nothing special – it was just another bedroom, with a connected bathroom. Strange.

"That's my spare bedroom. I let my… friend stay here sometimes." Tai shrugged. He didn't want to toss out Yamato's name and throw him under the bus in front of their long-time friend. What was he supposed to say? Yamato had become the biggest player? He occasionally brings girls over here to boink them? Or that he hides out here when a few of those girls become crazy and stalk his apartment?

"Oh, so this is your apartment. You live here." Mimi was putting all the pieces together. She snuck a glance at Taichi's toned muscles and abs, and then tried to avoid contact as much as she could. She didn't want him to think she was some kind of pervert, staring at his half-naked body.

"Well technically, yeah. Originally this was just a place to sleep when I ended up working too late, but I'm always working too late now so…"

"You work at this mall?"

"I guess you could say that," he smiled. "This mall is called Yagami Mall. I own it."

Her jaw dropped. Taichi sure came a long way from the headstrong boy who just liked to rush into things and hope everything panned out.

He could see her perception of him changing, and he didn't want that. He didn't want to be treated like some rich CEO, just Taichi – Mimi's childhood friend. Attempting to switch topics, he brought up Hikari instead knowing that Mimi would be consumed by how one of her closest girlfriends was doing.

"I actually have another apartment with Hikari – but I'm rarely there since I live here. I feel bad that she's usually home alone, maybe you could drop by and visit her when you have time."

"Oh, I would love that!" she smiled.

He looked at her face, her eyes, her lips. And felt a churning in his stomach. He wondered if she felt it too – the tension. But they were supposed to be friends! What the heck was he thinking.

Meanwhile, Mimi's phone lay neglected in her purse, discarded onto the black sofa. It kept vibrating and the lights continued flashing, unbeknownst to the two who were busy catching up and chatting away. On the screen blinked **Ishida Yamato**_**.**_

* * *

"You have reached Taichi, CEO of Yagami Corp. I am unable to answer your call right now but leave a brief message along with your name and number. I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

The curt voicemail greeted Hikari for the 5th time. Very snappy, not even a please. "Ughhh where are you jerk! You never came back with my drink, NOR are you back in time to take me home!"

Daisuke overheard her message and was overjoyed. "Want me to take you home, Hikari?"

"Oh Daisuke! Thanks that's very sweet of you, but your house and my house are opposite directions. It wouldn't make sense for you to take my home."

"I don't mind, I have nothing to do anyway. I can slowly walk you home, and we can talk and stop by for snacks," he insisted.

"No really, I just want to get home. I'll be fine."

"I insist. I don't want you going home by yourself," he pressed.

Hikari sighed. How to get herself out of this one? Suddenly she felt an arm drape over her shoulders and without even looking knew who it was. The body contact just felt so familiar. Someone she'd known her whole life.

"I'll take you home. I'm sure my motorcycle will get you there much quicker than Daisuke's skateboard," a cool voice responded.

"Takeru," she looked up, apologetic. _Thank you for saving me._ "Well I guess that settles that," she smiled while holding on to the wrist dangling off her shoulder. "Thanks anyway Daisuke, see you tomorrow. And… we can always get snacks another time, ne?" she winked.

"O-Of course."

He was satisfied, and she was satisfied that she ushered him away without any feelings being hurt.

"You know, you really shouldn't lead people on like that," Takeru said coolly.

"What are you talking about, Takeru? You know you're the only one for me," she batted her eyelashes and then laughed.

He slipped a helmet over her after she was done with her antics, and buckled the strap securely under her chin.

"Cute," he smirked as he slapped her helmet hard, sliding the plastic face-cover down in the process.

"Ouch, jerk."

She knew he was trying to act cool, but deep down he was probably mad. He hated when she played games with him, and hated watching her flirt with Daisuke. Hikari bit her lip. Wrapping her arms around his waist, which was unnecessary because they weren't going to go that fast, and rested her head against his strong back. She felt the wind begin to whip past their bodies as he accelerated towards her house. _Sorry Takeru._

* * *

**A/N:** Daww, all your reviews make me smile. I've been a tad bit busy lately which explains why I haven't been updating as much as I did before, but I decided to slap a new chapter down since you guys asked so nicely :D

I just can't wait to dive into the Mimato drama. Ohohoo, just you wait :3


	6. Two Guys, One Mimi

"So you're CEO of this huge mall, and then after a whole long stressful day of work you decide you want to go and coach soccer at the high school? That sounds exhausting."

"It's not that bad. Soccer is what I love, so it's never a chore," Taichi smiled. "And anyway, it lets me keep Daisuke and Takeru in check."

Mimi laughed. "Oh, that love feud. I've already had a slice of that today."

He loved her laugh. The way her eyes got squinty and cheeks became full and rosy as that melodic laugh poured out.

_MARU MARU MORI MORI MINNA TABERUYO~!_

"Oh my phone is ringing!" Mimi exclaimed and ran to her purse to dig for it. _THAT'S her ringtone?_ Taichi thought with a sweatdrop. _Why am I not surprised?_

It was so typical, and suited Mimi's bubbly charisma perfectly. And it was so cute, just like her.

"Oh Taichi, I forgot to tell you but I already made dinner plans tonight. I'm late, I have to go!"

"Whaaaat?" he pouted. "With who?"

"Why, are you jealous?" she winked while slipping on her wedges. "Thank you for the clothes by the way!" she mumbled because of the scrunchie she was biting onto. She was pulling her hair up into a high ponytail while scrambling to the door at the same time. She was the queen at multi-tasking, as she was often late… to everything. Not on purpose, but it somehow just always happened to turn out that way.

Taichi had called god knows who in his fancy businessman-like manner, and within minutes there had been a knock. New clothes had been brought up for them from the department store, magically. Mimi gushed but Taichi didn't seem too impressed. Mimi thought about the impatient look he had given his secretary Ana, and the sorry way Ana had scuffled away back to her original post.

Her mind was plagued with such thoughts as she turned the knob on the door, only to be met with a giant closet. _I thought this was the exit…_ she sweatdropped.

"TAICHI, I'M LOOOOOST," she sang out, hoping he would come find her soon.

This place was unnecessarily huge! Why on earth would a person need this much space to himself, was beyond her. If anything, it felt kind of lonely.

"You're so dumb," she heard him say and then felt a large, warm hand wrap around her tiny wrist from behind. He pulled her, and it twirled her to face him but he was already walking ahead of her, leading her to the exit. She looked at his large hand in close proximity with hers, and blushed.

"This door leads to my office. You can walk through it, and exit to an elevator that will take you back down to the mall. This elevator is special – not all elevators will lead you up here. And even with this elevator, you need a personal pin that authorizes access. I'll set one for you."

Mimi received the flood of information thoughtfully. "123456?" she smiled cheesily.

"No you dork. 123456 is the worst password ever, right next to 000000."

"… Ahahaha totally, that wasn't going to be my next suggestion at all," she laughed loudly.

"Your pin password is going to be 979977. Don't share it with anyone!"

"That's so random, why did you choose those numbers?"

"Because you're going to have to say it cutely to me in order for me to authorize it," he smiled devilishly.

"REALLY? How embarrassing," she pouted.

"Really. Okay hurry, you're late. And remember, it has to be cute!"

"I am too old for this," she grumbled. "You and your weird sexual fetishes. Ugh!"

"Hey I can hear you!"

**[A/N: Quick Japanese lesson 101! 9 in Japanese is "kyu," but it's also a cute sound like in the first half of "cuuuute." I think Chi from Chobits used to always say "kyuuu" too. 7 in Japanese is "shichi," but more often is said as "nana"]**

She balled her hands into fists and brought them under her chin, tilting her head to the left and pursing her lips. Here goes the first number, she thought.

"Kyuu~!"

She brought her hands out to either side of her, palms facing her shoulders, and said "nana" in a sing-songy voice twice while twisting her palms outwards each time and bringing them back.

She then made her hands into fists underneath her chin again and tilted her head to the right, nodding after each "kyu."

"Kyu, kyuuu~!"

And finished her final "nana" with her hands on her hips and a grumpy pout, while Taichi doubled over in laughter. She counted up to four mississippis and then decided that he wsa having too much fun.

"Okay perfect. You pass," he said in between his laughter.

"It's supposed to be cute, not funny!"

He stopped laughing and smiled. "It's both. Can we get lunch after school tomorrow?"

She forgave him. That boyish charm, darn him! "I'd like that. See you tomorrow then~"

* * *

Mimi walked through Taichi's office with a slight tinge of pink on her cheeks. It's been so long since she's been around a male – an attractive male, she corrected herself. Of course there were guys in New York. But hardly any tall, hunky, muscular, and extremely successful Japanese brunettes. There were no Taichis in New York. This office smelled like him too – a clean, manly smell. Aughhh!

She stepped out of the office expecting an elevator, and was met with a receptionist area. She looked at the woman sitting behind the desk, and immediately recognized her as Taichi's secretary.

"Oh! You're Ana. Thank you for helping us out earlier," she gave a slight bow.

The receptionist looked really surprised. "Oh of course Ms. Tachikawa, it was no problem – that's my job. I'm surprised you remembered my name."

"Of course! Let's be friends. Are you younger or older than Taichi?"

Ana looked taken aback. "I am slightly younger than President Yagami!"

"You have to call him that?" Mimi giggled. "Sorry I'm not trying to be rude. It just seems so weird to see this side of him. Well," she smiled kindly, "you can just call me Mimi."

"You and the President seem to be good friends. He is lucky to have someone like you Ms. Mimi. Unfortunately I don't think the President would like that."

Mimi pursed her lips and scrunched it to the side. "Hm… okay well let's compromise. Because I _need_ you to call me Mimi. We're not that different in age! We'll just keep it a secret and in front of President-san you can call me by whatever formal, stuffy version you want."

"Thank you, M-M-Mimi," Ana said shyly.

"See you!" she waved happily while walking backwards into the elevator.

* * *

"And here I thought you were going to stand me up," a smooth voice murmured into her ear, and strong arms wrapped around her shoulders from behind.

Mimi blushed. _Why am I blushing so much today?! Get your hormones in check, Tachikawa! Keep it in your pants!_

She grasped the arms and turned around while still encircled in them so that she came face to face with those familiar, steely blue eyes.

"Oh my gosh! Are you like, Ishida Yamato?! **I **am your _biggest _fan," Mimi gushed mockingly.

They stared into one another's eyes for a moment and then burst into laughter.

"Where do you want to go? What Japanese food have you missed most while living in New York?"

Mimi grinned, ready to drag Yamato around town all night long. She missed all the street food, the smells of fresh takoyaki on the grill, the busy bodies and most importantly, the "free samples!" What Mimi didn't realize was that she was probably one of the few that got "free samples," because of the big smiles and cute charm she threw their way.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" she grinned.

_Is that supposed to be sexual?_ _Were we not referring to food when we talked about "dinner?" How could I have missed that?_ "Bring it on, girl," Ishida smirked.

The night was completely not what he expected. Rather than going back to his place or her place, or sly pick up lines and sexual innuendos embedded in their conversations, he was truly able to joke around with Mimi and be himself. It was a lot more different than the dates he usually went on. Rather than hiding things and trying to impress the girl into sleeping with him, they laughed about their DigiDestined days and the horrible fashion phases Mimi went through with her hair.

Instead of a fancy restaurant they went to get street food, and then wound up in a karaoke bar singing and pounding on sake bombs. By the end of the night he was exhausted and they were both pretty hammered.

On the street they began walking side by side while giggling about nothing and everything, and then stopped when they realized that they had no idea where they were walking to.

"Let's go back to my place," he said breathlessly. "It's closer. You can stay over."

"Are you trying to get in my pants?" she accused him playfully.

This sobered him up. Very quickly.

"That depends. Are you trying to get into mine?" he asked seriously. Her question definitely took him by surprise, since well… it was Mimi! Innocent, pure, child-like lovely Mimi. But of course she would have changed. Everyone changes, right? He definitely did.

She crossed her arms and put a finger on her lips as if thinking, and then began to slowly walk towards him. Raising her right hand, she combed it through his stylish blonde hair and looked at him seductively. There was a pause. Then she inched her face closer to his, and landed her soft lips on the side of his cheek.

"I've been back less than a week. We'll see how it goes," she whispered. "Goodnight!"

And before he had time to regain his bearings, she was gone. She hopped into a taxi and with her forehead up against the glass, waved him goodbye. Then as if remembering something, she quickly rolled down the window and shouted, "Make sure to get home safely!"

Yamato smiled. She was so adorable, but at the same time showed him tonight that she could be sexy. He needed her even more. Returning to his apartment, he flipped on the lights and felt even lonelier than ever. He had never returned to his apartment from a date alone before.

He recalled the night's events and fell into bed with his clothes on, the smell of Mimi's perfume still lingering on them. He was too tired, and too drunk, to change anyway. Vaguely he noticed that Takeru was either asleep in his room already, or not home – often times it was the latter. As he dozed off he remembered the feel of her long fingers running through his hair, and smiled.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm alive you guys! I felt very sorry for not updating in such a long time, so I stayed up till the wee hours to finish this chapter It's 3AM and I have work at 8 tomorrow, arghhh!

So I realized I probably got a little too ambitious with this story. There are so many characters; I can't get to them all! But it has potential... right?

By the way, Mimi's ringtone is super cute. If you haven't heard of it, you def need to watch it:[ watch?v=RWV_rx5PYD4]

It's the ending theme song of Marumo no Okite. It's so bubbly and cute! If the link doesn't work, because I feel like Fanfiction is going to try and funk it up, you can just search "maru maru mori mori" on Youtube and it'll come up.

Comments! I love hearing what you guys think. Seriously. Like, "Get to Hikaru/TK stuff already!" or "Ah I want to see Sora!" or "You're awful stop writing!" Just kidding about that last comment, keep that one to yourself T^T But yeah, is the story moving along too slowly? Less talking, more things happening? Let me know! :3


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